Trex is not your only choice in deck composites...
ONce again, it's time to sand, clean, stain and seal our deck. IT's pretty big and a ton of work to get done. I am thinking of replacing it with a composite deck.
Have any of you gone this route? What has been your long term experience with the composites? Are they truly maintenance and worry free? Have you had any trouble with mold? WHich brand did you use?
About 5 years ago, I too tired of wood deck maintenance and tore up the pressure treated wood on my deck and replaced it with composite (not Trex, a product which I didn't (still don't) like much). Glad I did it. Following are a few of my own experiences and observations and recommendations:
1. If your current deck is wood, the flooring might (i.e., should) be on joists underneath which are 16" on center (a common benchmark). However, read the fine print of ANY which composite you consider using, since some (many?) of them recommend only 12" maximum on center for the underlying supporting joists, since
all composites have far less lateral strength / rigidity than wood. I did not much enjoy the extra carpentry involved, hanging all those additional joists, but I did it anyhow. There
may be thicker (or laterally stronger) products on the market now, 5 years later, which
can be used 16" o.c. If so, I wish they had been around when I was doing my job 5 years ago...
2. Some composites (Trex foremost among them, in my opinion) can be
very slippery when wet, or with any frost on the surface,
particularly if it's a smooth finish surface. Whatver you choose, look for a product which has some observable "grip" to it (raised lines or a "fake wood grain" type finish on the top surface).
3. All composites, as far as I know, can (and do) still hold and grow mold, particularly on moisture-susceptible areas which receive no sun. Pressure washing or brushing with a MILD bleach solution and then hosing it off promptly seems to work fine for me. But don't think of composites as a miracle product ---there is still maintenance, just a lot less of it.
4. No color loss over the past 5 years for me, just some very faint surface fading (which actually
improves the appearance, as far as I'm concerned).
Hope some of this helps. I used a product called "Correct Deck". I chose it because it's made in Maine and I always support local and regional businesses whenever possible. I'm sure there are other composite products that are just as good (...but I
still greatly dislike the Trex product, which imho is truly inferior).
P.S. I'm no carpenter, but I did the whole job myself and I dare say that a professional could not / would not have done a visibly better job, so I respectfully disagree with the "pros only" input in post #19 above.
We don't have a mold problem per se, but there are small areas of what looks like a lichen type growth, just in the areas that are shaded, by the railings, for example. I'm sure it will come off with a soapy scrub with a brush and I'm going to put that on my list of things to do.
We did not look at any other brand when we selected this. Probably should have but we were so swamped just trying to get our home finished and an acre of landscaping installed that it wasn't a priority.
